Finding Honesty on Valentine's Day!

While watching a cable tv documentary on catastrophic theories, there were some insights presented that left me thinking throughout the valentine's day weekend. The idea is known as "cognitive dissonance" where the brain simply shuts down information, or thoughts about certain circumstances that are just too difficult to comprehend. An example was provided regarded a dam that was about to flood a city. 

Cognitive dissonance is when our brains don't want to acknowledge the gravity or seriousness of a situation. A good example is in Jared Diamond's book "Collapse", where he talked about a dam that was about to break and people three miles downstream were really afraid. And people two miles downstream were, like, really freaked out. But people living within a mile of the dam, they weren't concerned at all.
If things are too frightening and too threatening, our brains tune it out because it would affect our behavior and it would be too painful to accept.

-Dr. Nathan Hagans, Prophets of Doom

I watched this documentary on valentine's day, a day collectively associated with romance in the western world. In terms of romance, it appears that the majority collectively strive for monogamy, as shown through our interests in "soul-mate" or "the-one-and-only", the "happily ever after" scenarios. In building such an experience, it seems we collectively include one key ingredient to the process, "honesty". I mean, I think most would agree that they would expect "honesty" in the close relationships they build. 

In dissecting the concept of "honesty" by using my imagination to figure out how much "honesty" (both-ways) would be best for my ideal relationship, I found that would really have to first define "honesty".  The dictionaries define "honesty" as "credible, truthful, sincere, genuine, unadulterated, fairness". However, attempting to see such terms/definitions play-out in my imagination, I realized that it essentially "transparency" that we are looking for when we strive for "honesty". The ability and willingness to being open, frank, and truthful about our lives our ourselves, to be transparent to each other. 

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. -Thomas Jefferson

Taking a good look at our thoughts and the way they make/made you FEEL to manifest your current or prior (worse) circumstances has you looking deep within your own shadows. We tend to look for "honesty" or "transparency" outside of ourselves in our relationships, but rarely do we, or at least I haven't, take a "transparent" look at ourselves, dissect our own psyche. In attempting to raise my vibration in all aspects of my life, I've noticed "triggers" or lack beliefs arise that attempt to bring me back down. For example, when I'm imagining myself to be the most enlightened, the most talented in my profession, talented in the arts, exhuming qualities I may not nessarily believe I possess in my NOW moment to activate law of attraction, I get slammed afterwards with a barrage of "this is just wishful thinking, it won't happen", or "yeah, but I'm not really good enough, I need to do this and this first, work on this, etc." I then have the option to lower my FEELING, or dissect those ideas (false-beliefs) to release those karmic ties.  Though it is not comfortable to face certain false-ideas about ourselves, to relive memories where we have suffered due to those false-beliefs, it is about becoming "transparent" to your own Mind. 

In my attempts to become "transparent" to myself, I'm dumbfounded with the psychology of "cognitive dissonance". I've noticed that I don't really notice limiting beliefs about myself until I attempt to clear situations that trigger me, lower/control the way I FEEL. The clearing being done by realizing in that moment that I'm being triggered, and attempting to figure out what is at the heart of the situation triggering me and how can I FEEL better. 

The more I dig deeper, I can't help but think what if my mind is playing the "cognitive dissonance" game and veiling information about my beliefs and experiences from me. Is there something inside my that is beyond catastrophic that I simply cannot currently fathom. What really lurks behind my unconscious? Then I realized isn't that our current spiritual path, our true "Dharma", to walk through life as if my Self is constantly unveiling itself before me to face the greatest challenge/adventure of them all, becoming more and more transparent and One with my Self.  

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...and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free". - John 8:32 (NASB)